Shark attacks Texas teen

A shark attacked a teenage boy on Monday as he was standing in shallow water off the coast of Texas, police said.

The 15-year-old was at Surfside Beach on the Gulf of Mexico with friends when he felt the shark bite his left leg and tried to fight it off by reaching into the water and hitting it. The shark then went for his left hand and he suffered lacerations to limbs, according to Assistant Chief of Police Gregg Bisso.

When the shark gave up, the boy’s friends helped him out of the water and a police officer and medic who was on the scene began administering first aid, said Bisso.

The victim was then air-lifted 60 miles to Memorial Herman–Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Bisso said the Surfside Beach Police Department is most used to responding to jelly fish stings — not shark bites — since the last shark attack at Surfside happened 25-30 years ago.

He said an influx of sharks could be the result of weather conditions or bait fish, but the police department will not call for extra precautions on the beach until they are able to figure it out.

The boy, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, is being treated, but his injuries are not life threatening, Bisso said.